“Whenever you are in doubt, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest man you have seen. Ask yourself if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him. Will it restore him to a control over his own life and destiny? Then you will find your doubt melting away”.
- Mahatma Gandhi

TO begin a transition from its role in financing conventional power loans to a new role in financing sustainable energy technologies the World Bank should :

CHANGE ENERGY POLICY:

1. Institute a Moratorium on Lending or Guarantees for any project that involves new exploration for fossil fuel reserves in natural forests, pristine and frontier areas.

2. Phase Out Lending and Guarantees for any World Bank project that involves coal and oil extraction.

3. Institute a Moratorium on Lending and Guarantees for fossil fuel power projects pending :

Evaluations of all current and future power projects in full consultation with the communities most affected by the project, respecting the right of the local populations to decline a project which may adversely impact them;

PARLIAMENTARY UPDATE:
Support for the Tobin Tax Growing Around the World

With the exception of Canada, which is backpeddling on its commitment to Tobin tax adoption in the motion passed on March 23, 1999, and the US, which is ideologically opposed to any control over “free” markets, the debate on the need for and feasibility of currency controls is growing globally. Below are some recent milestones.